The Mixed Tape
by IloveHarryPotter17
Summary: James and Lily's relationship was never perfect. Something tore them apart. Both have regrets, but with their current situations, will history repeat itself?
1. Staplegunned

**Disclaimer**: I do not own:

Harry Potter

The Spill Canvas

Or "Staplegunned"

I simply enjoy them all and weave them all together to form this fic for the enjoyment of others and myself.

**A/N: **I suggest you go find the lyrics on and go download the song off of _limewire _or something right this instant so you can understand it. Otherwise, it'll be nice but it won't be as good. Don't worry, it'll still be here once you're done doing those two things. Trust me, it's for you own good. I'm only telling you this because I love you all so much.

I have nothing against the French or Chinese. Or any other nationality. Promise.

"Staplegunned" by The Spill Canvas

"I don't see why we had to stay in a bloody hotel," James grumbled as he and Sirius dragged their suitcases behind them into the hotel lobby. "I happen to know that Remus' aunt has plenty of room for all of us while we're here."

Sirius shrugged. "It's beyond me, mate."

"There's the front desk," James pointed out and made his way towards it with Sirius following behind him.

"Good morning, sir. Welcome to the Hilton. Are you checking in?" the lady behind the desk greeted him.

"Yes," James answered. "It should be under James Potter."

"Ah…yes, here you are," the lady said as she scanned her computer screen. "I'm sorry sir, but your room isn't ready yet."

"It isn't ready yet? How long will it take?" James asked her.

"Oh, I'm not sure, sir. It shouldn't take too long, Mr. Potter," the lady replied.

"Alright then," James said. He grabbed his suitcase handle and rolled it across the lobby to a little sitting area. He sat down on one end of a comfortable-looking sofa and let his suitcase on the floor next to him. Sirius sat down in a chair next to him.

"Why, exactly, are we here? Why did Remus insist that we come half-way across the world to this dreary place only to wait in a hotel lobby for a room that isn't ready?" Sirius asked.

"To see a show," James answered dryly. He wasn't too happy at being there either.

"And there are no shows in England?"

"Exactly. I think something's going on," James said.

"Like what?" Sirius inquired.

"I don't know yet," James replied.

They sat in silence for awhile, simply watching the people come and go. James looked out of one of the large glass windows that faced the dirty street. A taxi pulled up to the front of the hotel. The driver got out and started to unload the packages from the trunk.

James watched the cab door open. A woman stepped out. She was dressed all in black. The woman's hair blew in the wind, and it shone once the few streams of sunlight hit it. She had red auburn hair. James was instantly reminded of someone he once knew, a certain Lily Evans that he had chased after for years at Hogwarts' before they finally became friends in their 7th and last year there. They were never terribly close, and a few weeks after their departure from school, distance and time proved too much and their friendship disintegrated. For a few moments he allowed himself to hope that it was her, but he knew it wasn't. The lady had black sunglasses covering her eyes so he couldn't be positively sure either way. James mentally scolded himself. He always found himself hoping it was Lily whenever he saw a red-headed person in a crowd of people, only to be disappointed. Still, he was intrigued by this woman in black and he watched her enter the hotel. She walked to the front desk with an air of purpose about her with her large black suitcase trailing behind her.

"D'you think the room is done?" Sirius asked.

"I dunno. I'll go check," James said and crossed the lobby to the desk where the same lady was open that he had talked to earlier. The woman in black was on his right, just a few meters away from him talking to another staff member that was checking her computer.

"Hello Mr. Potter," the lady said. "Your room has just been finished. It's 737, here's the keys," she said as she handed two keys to him.

James thanked her and stepped to the side of the desk, motioning Sirius over. The lady in black crossed in front of James, to get to the elevator where she pressed the button and waited. James headed towards the elevator and Sirius met him there.

"We're room 737, try not to forget that," James said. A few others joined them at the entrance to the elevator, waiting for it to come down.

"I won't. Besides, it only happened once," Sirius reminded him.

"Yes, but it was a horrible time," James said. "The security had to bring you back. I'm surprised they didn't kick us out."

"They can't kick you out of a hotel," Sirius said.

"Yes they can," James told him.

"Can they really?" Sirius asked, fully curious now.

"Yes, Sirius."

"How?"

The elevator doors opened and they waited for the people to exit before the little group of people that had been waiting entered it. James and Sirius were forced into the back corner of the elevator. James skimmed the crowed. The lady in black was at the front of the elevator. He could jus see the back of her head around a rather large lady's hat that partially blocked his view.

"They tell you that you have to leave, and you must or they would probably call security and force you out," James explained.

"So, do they actually just dump you out on the street?"

"Yes."

"How do you know all this?" Sirius asked him.

"I saw it once," James said, staring at the woman in black. She turned her neck and looked at the person behind her. Her sunglasses were pushed up onto her head, holding back her hair. She had green eyes. "When I was in Italy with my parents, ages ago. We had to stay at a, um, _normal _hotel because the other one was full." James couldn't help but noticed she looked almost exactly like James pictured Lily Evans looking like after he hadn't seen her for so long. "A man was running around the hotel, he had too much to drink, and I saw him get kicked out. It wasn't too pretty." The elevator stopped at the fourth floor and the woman got off, alone. The doors slid shut and he only caught a glimpse of her walking down the hallway to her room. The elevator started upwards once again.

"I'd like to see that. That'd be really entertaining," Sirius said.

"I suppose," James agreed. The elevator stopped at another floor before theirs. When they reached the seventh floor, they made their way out of the elevator. "This way," James said after reading the little sign pointing towards the 730s. He walked down the carpeted hallway until they reached room 737. James slid the key into the keyhole and unlocked the door. The door opened to reveal a nice-looking room. It wasn't anything too spectacular, but it had a relatively tasteful décor. Sirius immediately flopped down on one of the beds.

"I think I'm going to take a nap," Sirius said.

"Alright. I'm going to go explore the hotel some more. I think there's some kind of pool somewhere."

"Really? If you find it let me know then," Sirius said closing his eyes.

"I'll leave the other key on the dresser in case you need it," James said, placing the key on the dresser.

"Ok Prongs. Have fun."

"Right. 'Bye Padfoot," James said as he walked out and closed the door behind him. He walked down the hallway back to the elevators. He pressed the button with the arrow pointing downward. There was a little chime and the doors to the second elevator slid open. He stepped inside the empty elevator and pressed the first button at the bottom for the lobby level. It slid down the shaft and opened its doors once it reached the lobby, allowing James to step out and slowly make his way towards the front desk. Prolonging his reaching there as long as possible so he could rack his brain for a credible excuse for what he was about to do. Before he could think of one that would work, he reached the front desk.

"Hello again Mr. Potter," the same lady greeted him from behind the desk, her smile barely wavering. "Is everything satisfactory? Is there anything I can help you with perhaps?"

"No, everything's fine," James replied. He paused for a moment as he decided on an excuse. She waited expectantly. "I was wondering if you could tell me who, exactly, that woman was that checked in earlier? She was dressed all in black."

"I'm sorry sir, we're not supposed to release any of that information."

"Please?" James asked again. "She was dressed all in black."

"Sir, you do realize that you're in New York City? Everyone dresses in black here, take a look around."

James was taken aback for a moment, but he looked over his shoulder nonetheless. There was children running around, dressed mainly in black with some splashes of navy blue. Adults were standing around, some arriving, leaving, and relaxing in varying shades of black. Only a few people wore colours other than black, but none daring to cross into the lighter shades. It was true. James turned back to the lady with a little shame that he had failed to notice this. "I'm sorry I didn't realize that. She was red-headed with green eyes. I think she might be an old friend that I haven't seen in awhile, but I do not want to go up to a perfect stranger and greet them as a friend, that would be terribly embarrassing. Could you just give me her name?"

The lady thought it over for a moment. It was clearly against her job to do so, but she sighed and replied, "Green eyes and red-headed. It must be Lily Evans."

"Lily Evans?" James asked in astonishment. "Are you sure?"

The lady nodded, but checked her computer anyways. "Yes it's her. Do you know her?"

James nodded. "I went to school with her."

"Really? Where? She doesn't say much to us when she stays her, which she does often because of her job. I know she travels a lot."

"A private boarding school in Britain," James answered. "Thank you."

The lady nodded and started to shuffle the papers that laid on her desk.

James turned around and traveled back to the elevator. Lily Evans was in the same hotel. And she was on the fourth floor. Three away from his. He waited with the small group at the elevator and got on with the crowd.

"Which floor?" the older man asked him from next to the panel.

"The main level, please," James replied. He was the first to get off. He traveled down the various corridors and hallways. He found the pool, weight room, gift shops, the two restaurant, the bar, and conference rooms. James grew bored with simply walking around, and he could see from the few windows that faced the street that it was growing dark. The taxis lit up their signs as well as the stores with their neon signs. He found the elevator, which was deserted and rode it up to the seventh floor. He got off and walked to the room. He slid the key into the hole and unlocked it. Sirius hadn't moved from his position. James used the bathroom and changed. he slid underneath the covers of the second bed and closed his eyes, wondering if he was brave enough to face her again.

James woke up the next morning to find Sirius standing at the edge of his bed. "Finally, you're awake," Sirius said.

James grunted in response and turned over, hiding his eyes from the light.

"Wake up," Sirius demanded, shaking James awake.

"Fine, fine. I'm getting up," James mumbled. He threw the covers off to the side and got out of bed. He groggily made his way to the bathroom and took a shower. When he was dressed and ready to go, Sirius turned off the TV and threw the remote on the bed and bounded to the door like a little child. "Do you have a key?" James asked him.

"No, grab one," Sirius replied, stepping out of their room.

James rolled his eyes and took a key from the dresser and shoved it into his pocket. He followed Sirius down to the elevators. "Where are we going?"

"To get something to eat, of course. I'm starving!" Sirius replied.

"Good. Me too. There's a restaurant on the main level. D'you want to eat there?"

"Sure," Sirius said. "As long as they have pancakes. And eggs." Sirius got into the elevator with James behind him and pushed the main floor button. "And bacon. I haven't had that in forever. Remember at Hogwarts, we would always fight over the last piece?"

James chuckled, "But then a whole new plate always appeared. I remember."

"Here we are!" Sirius announced as the elevator chimed and opened its doors. "Where is it?"

"This way," James said, walking down a spacious hallway richly decorated with paintings. "Here it is, and they're serving breakfast."

"Hello, party of two?" a hostess greeted them.

"Yes," James answered. She showed them to a table next to a large window that overlooked the busy street a level below.

"Look how busy it is down there," Sirius said once they were seated.

"Yeah, it is New York City."

"What? We're in New York?" Sirius asked, clearly astonished by the look on his face.

James laughed at his friend, "Of course we are. Where did you think we were?"

"I thought we were in Chicago!" Sirius exclaimed, earning a disapproving look from two businessmen at one table and a woman sitting with her family a few tables away.

"No, Sirius. We're in New York."

"How did that happen?"

"How did what happen? This is where we're supposed to be."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes."

"Positively sure? I really don't think we're supposed to be here. I think we're supposed to be in Chicago."

"Sirius, I'm sure we're supposed to be here. Were you listening at all when Remus was explaining it all to us?" James asked him, looking up from his menu the hostess had given him.

Sirius didn't reply for a moment. Then with a sheepish look he admitted, "No."

"Well there you go. That's why then."

"Hello, I'm Mandy. I'll be you waitress. Can I get you anything to drink?" a very pretty waitress asked them as she appeared at their table.

"Coffee," Sirius said immediately.

"No coffee for you, Sirius. You'll be running all around the city with that caffeine," he said. Sirius scowled and crossed his arms. "Do you have orange juice?" he asked Mandy.

"Of course," she replied.

"Then we'll both have a glass of orange juice," James told her.

"Ok, I'll be right back with your drinks," she said and disappeared from the side of their table.

"She's pretty," Sirius said, watching her walk away.

"Forget her. Guess who's here," James said, leaning towards him and resting his forearms on the table as if to share a secret.

"Who?" Sirius asked.

"Guess. You'll never guess," James said.

"Remus?" Sirius asked.

"Nope, guess again."

"Peter?"

James shook his head no.

"Your mum?"

Another no.

"Dumbledore?"

No again.

"Angela, that girl you dated before. Oh wait, please don't tell me Diane followed me all the way here!" Sirius said worriedly, looking around the restaurant for any signs of her.

James laughed, "No, not her. Besides, if she would be anywhere, it'd be in Chicago."

Sirius scowled again, "Not my fault I thought he said Chicago. Can't let anything go."

"No, really. Lily Evans is staying here."

A look of shock took over Sirius' features. "Lily Evans? Here? Are you sure? I haven't seen her in forever, have you? How do you know she's here?"

"She's here. I saw her yesterday, and I asked the lady at the front desk if it was her, and it was."

Mandy reappeared at their table and set their orange juice down in front of them. She whipped out her notepad and pen. "What can I get you to eat?" she asked, looking at James first, pen ready to write.

"Ah, I'll have eggs over easy with bacon, please," he said.

"And for you?" she asked, her gaze shifting to Sirius.

"I'll have the breakfast platter."

"How would you like your eggs?"

"Scrambled, please," Sirius said. Mandy nodded and went to place their order with the cook.

Sirius whistled. "Lily Evans. Here. Wow. Have you talked to her yet?"

"No, she doesn't even know we're here."

"Oh, stalking her again?" Sirius chuckled.

James scoffed, "That was so third year."

"But are you going to talk to her? What are you going to do?"

James shrugged, "I don't know. Do you think she wants to see me?"

"I don't know about you, but I know she wants to see me. I know it was me she had a crush on. That's why she rejected you, sorry mate."

"Very funny, Sirius. But as I remember, you were too busy getting off with Eva to even know what was going on with Lily and I."

"Hey! I resent that. We were just snogging."

James sent Sirius a look.

"Ok, ok, and maybe just a little shagging…"

James snorted, "More than a little. You were always all over one another whenever I looked at you. Why did you guys break up anyways? You never said. And that other time I asked you threw that shoe at my head, so I don't even want to hear it."

Sirius shrugged, "End of school, end of fun. We both had different things to do. Like you and Lily."

The conversation drifted to other topics and their food arrived. Sirius' food took up most of the table and more than one plate. The food disappeared within the first five minutes of its arrival and they stayed and talked for about ten more minutes.

"I'm going upstairs to grab another shirt, this one's got something on it," Sirius said pushing his chair away from the table and standing up.

"Syrup? Alright, I'm going to go pay," James said and handed the key to Sirius. Sirius nodded and left.

Once James had paid, he waited patiently for an elevator that would take him upstairs. He knew Sirius. Even though he had to just get another shirt, the process of putting it on would mess up his hair, and he would have to fix it for ten minutes. The elevator doors slid open and James stepped inside the seeming empty elevator. When he turned to face the panel of floors and buttons he saw he wasn't alone. He was face to face with none other than Lily Evans.

Lily gasped. "James?"

"Lily? Is it really you?" he asked, astonished he was finally face to face with her.

Lily squealed and threw her arms around him, giving him a huge hug. It felt so good to have Lily in his arms that James was reluctant to pull away. They stared into each others' eyes for a moment before Lily broke the silence.

"So, how are you?" she asked him, sizing him up. She hadn't seen him in forever.

"Good, good. How are you?" James replied. It felt so good to see her again.

"I'm good," she said with a dazzling smile.

James could barely restrain himself from kissing her right there. "That's good. What are you doing here?"

"I'm here for work. Why are you here? I never pictured seeing you in New York City," Lily replied.

"I'm here with Sirius because Remus wanted us to see this show or something."

"Sirius is here?"

"Yeah, upstairs. How long are you staying?"

"Oh, only for a couple more days. I've got a conference tomorrow, which is really why I'm here. Oh, this is my floor," Lily said, noticing that the elevator chimed to signal that it had arrived at the fourth floor. "I'll see you around, James," she said stepping out of the elevator. She smiled and walked away from the elevator, only glancing back once.

The doors slid shut, obscuring James' view of Lily. He couldn't believe it. Did he really just talk to Lily Evans? She looked just as amazing as ever. The elevator couldn't go fast enough to the seventh floor, and as soon as the doors slid open, James shot out and dashed into the room eager to tell Sirius.

"Sirius?" James called out, entering the room.

"Yeah?" Sirius called back.

James followed his voice to the bathroom where Sirius was staring into the mirror and running his fingers through his hair. Typical. "Guess who I just saw!" James exclaimed.

"Lily," Sirius said, putting more gel into his hair.

"I did," James said.

"Really?" Sirius asked, astonished, and turned to look at his friend.

"In the elevator. She recognized me, Padfoot! She's still so beautiful. I can't believe it. I talked to Lily Evans. I haven't seen her in over a year or so…"

"And you're still in love with her? Just one look can send you back into shock I see. What did she say?"

"The usual. How are you? Why are you here? Etcetera."

"Are you going to meet up with her again?" Sirius asked.

James shook his head. "I don't know. I hope so."

"Let's go walk around the city," Sirius said.

"Let's go," James agreed. The two made it through the hotel without another Lily sighting and emerged onto the cramped sidewalks of New York City. They walked down the sidewalks, making fun of the various people that passed them. "What's going on up there?" James asked Sirius, pointing ahead to a huge mass of people with the streets blocked off and tents set up in the middle of the street.

"I don't know, let's go find out," Sirius said and dragged his friend the two blocks and across the police barricade.

"You want massage?" a Chinese man asked them as he looked up at them eagerly, beckoning them to come visit him at his little tent with a strange-looking chair in front of him.

"Uh, no," James said quickly and passed the stand.

"Prongs look, they have French Creeps!" Sirius exclaimed pointing to a sign.

"No, those are French crêpes. It's food," James explained.

"Food! Even better," Sirius said and was at the front of the line ordering a crêpe. James shook his head and waited for Sirius. "Mmm, this is really good!" Sirius said after he found James with his half-eaten crêpe in his hand. "Here, try some," Sirius told James and shoved it into his hands.

James reluctantly took a bite, but found it was quite good. "That is good. Thanks Padfoot," he said and quickly tried to escape with the crêpe.

"Hey! Wait that's my creep!" Sirius exclaimed, earning quite a few looks from the people around him. He caught up to James and grabbed the crêpe. "Aw, it's almost all gone!"

"Sorry. Go buy another one. Look, there's another crêpe stand up there," James tried to cheer him.

"Alright."

"Buy me one too."

"Ok, two creeps," Sirius said heading off to the next crêpe stand.

"That's not how you pronounce them!" James called after him.

Sirius just shrugged and ordered two more _creeps _from the man at the crêpe stand. After Sirius had gotten his crêpes, they wandered down the length of the line of tents, avoiding the Chinese who so desperately wanted to give them massages. After finally reaching the exit, they strolled around New York searching for a place to eat. They found a McDonald's with a second floor and ate there, overlooking the street.

"Should we head back to the hotel?" James asked Sirius.

Sirius shrugged. "I guess so…when exactly are we seeing this play?"

"Two days, I think. It's a matinee, Remus said," James told him.

"What is it about?" Sirius asked him as they stood up and walked down the steps and outside onto the street.

"I've no idea," James replied.

"Well, what's it called then?"

"I don't know. I don't remember."

"What?! You mean you don't know what we're here to see!" Sirius exclaimed.

"Apparently neither do you," James retorted.

"You've got to write to Remus and get this all sorted out. That's the only reason we're here."

"Wait, why do I have to do it? Why don't you write to Remus and sort it out?"

"Because," Sirius explained, "that's not my area of expertise."

"Oh?" James asked, raising his eyebrows, "and may I ask what is?"

"Getting us to our hotel. And look what a great job I did! We're here!" Sirius said as the doorman opened the large glass door to allow them entrance.

"Wonderful job Sirius," James said sarcastically, "since it was so hard and such."

"I know," Sirius replied, choosing to ignore James' sarcasm.

When the two arrived at their room, they flopped onto their beds, fully clothed.

"So you're owling Remus then?" Sirius asked.

"Yeah," James replied. "'Night Sirius."

"Good-night James."

James closed his eyes and fell asleep, dreaming of a certain red-headed girl.

"James, James," someone said as they shook him awake. "C'mon Prongsie, I'm hungry."

James groaned and turned over.

"Please get up Prongsie. I'm starving."

"You're always starving," James muttered, not bothering to open up his eyes.

"Will you go get me some breakfast. Maybe that Mickey place that we went to yesterday?" Sirius begged.

"What?" James asked, sitting up. "Go get you? You're not going?"

"Why would I when you'll go for me?"

"Bloody hell, Padfoot you're a pain in my arse."

"I know, but you still love me," Sirius said with a grin. "If you get the food I'll write to Moony."

"Alright," James agreed and got dressed. "What do you want from there?"

"Anything," Sirius said as he pulled out his writing supplies from his suitcase.

"Ok. Bye then," James replied and walked out. He walked to McDonald's without seeing Lily, not even once. He ordered about half the menu, paid the man, got his food and started on his way back to the hotel, not in a good mood. The lobby seemed too bright, and he made his way to the elevator. He waited for it and hoped it would be empty so he wouldn't have to deal with any annoying muggles. When the door slid open, he found out his wish wasn't granted.

"Hey Lily," James said with a smile as her eyes met his and he stepped inside the elevator.

"Hi James," she replied with a smile too.

"You look nice," James complimented.

"Thanks," Lily said as she smoothed out the nonexistent wrinkles in her dress. "This conference could mean the difference between more traveling or a desk job."

"You'll be fine, Lily. You always do great," James reassured her.

Lily smiled at him nervously. An uncomfortable silence ensued. Lily didn't know how to reply to James' remark.

The elevator chimed to signal the current floor. "Well, this is it. See you around, James," she said as she stepped out of the elevator and down the hallway towards her meeting.

James watched her walk away, feeling stupid. He should've asked her to dinner or something. The elevator doors started to slide shut and James pressed the button that sent them back to the sides. He dashed out of the elevator and ran in Lily's direction. "Lily!" he called out once she was in his view. She spun around and tucked a stray piece of hair behind her ear while she waited for him to catch up. "I was…uh, wondering if you wanted to do something later tonight?"

"Sure. Listen, I've really got to go, but my room number is 423. Call me later then."

"Alright, good luck Lil," James said.

She smiled at him and walked into the conference room. James leaned against the wall. _She said yes._

James made his way back to the elevators and up to the room. James found Sirius flipping through the channels. He took out a breakfast sandwich and threw the bag at Sirius which he caught and opened eagerly. "I've got a date with Lily Evans."

"What?" Sirius asked, pausing to look up from his bag of food.

"That's right. Tonight. I have to call her room, number 423 later about specifics."

"That's great Prongs. No wonder this thing is half-cold," Sirius complained, shaking his sandwich in James' direction.

"Shut up."

The two spent the rest of the morning and most of the afternoon experiencing the joys of American Muggle television. They only dared to venture out for lunch at the hotel restaurant. James kept glancing at the clock between the two beds on the nightstand. It finally read 5:00pm.

"D'you think she's out of her meeting?" James asked Sirius.

"Who? Lily?"

"Duh. Who else Padfoot? Really."

"I think so."

James moved to the head of the bed and picked up the phone. He pressed the pound key and dialed Lily's room number. It rang once. _What if she doesn't answer? _It rang twice _What if she changed her mind?_

"Hello?" Lily's voice came from the receiver.

"Hi Lily, it's James."

"Oh, hi James. Listen, I know a great place to go to tonight. I know you'll love it."

"Ok…how about eight?"

"Sure, that's good."

"Alright. I'll get you at eight then."

"Ok, 'bye James."

"Bye Lily," James said and waited until he heard the click from her phone hanging up before he placed his back on the holder. "I've got a date with Lily Evans."

"Shhh. This woman is finding out she's adopted!" Sirius explained, fully engaged in a soap opera.

"Sorry Paddy if my real life is more important that that girl's fake one," James said sarcastically.

"No Monica! Come back!" Sirius moaned and cradled his head in his hands. "You fool!"

James rolled his eyes and took a shower. With his very limited wardrobe, he put on black pants and a dressier shirt. He went into the bathroom and placed himself in front of the mirror. He tried to tame his hair with a comb, then a brush, but nothing worked. James tried to plaster his unruly hair to his head with water but it did work any better either.

Sirius appeared in the doorway. "Look mate, your hair won't stay down. Let it go. She knows how it is. Go already, it's almost eight."

"Do I look alright?" James asked.

Sirius nodded. "You look fine. Take a key and go. But if you're going to do anything, do it in her room. I don't need to hear that crap."

James grinned, "Thanks Paddy. I'll see you later." He grabbed a key and headed out of the door. He was in front of Lily's door in no time. He knocked softly and ran his fingers through his hair nervously.

The door opened to reveal Lily Evans in another black dress. It wasn't fancy, but it fit her perfectly. Her hair was down and she was clutching a small black purse.

James could only stare at her before he managed to say, "You look beautiful Lil."

Lily blushed, "Thank you." He took her arm and led her through the hotel. As soon as they were outside on the crowded street, he realized he didn't know where they were going.

"Uh, Lily? Where exactly are we going?" James asked her.

"You'll see."

"As long as they don't have crêpes there."

"Why?"

"Because Sirius will kill me for eating some without him. We had some yesterday at that huge market thing. We just walked right through the barricades they had up and into a different multi-national world."

Lily looked at him in shock. "You just walked right past the barricade? To the street fair?"

"The street fair? Yeah, why?" James asked her nervously.

"That's for members only! You have to pay at either end to get in!" Lily exclaimed.

James looked at her in shock. "Oh no. We're not going tot get arrested or anything, are we?"

Lily started to laugh from the concerned expression on James' face.

"What's so funny?" he asked her, clearly upset on not being in on the joke.

"You," she managed to say. "You don't have to pay to get into the street fair."

"I can't believe you!" James said, but after a few seconds he laughed along with Lily. The two turned onto Times Square.

"Come on, it's this way," Lily said as she took James' hand and led him down the sidewalk. They arrived at their destination and Lily pulled the door open and pulled James inside. It took a moment for their eyes to adjust to the dimmer lighting rather than the bright neon signs of New York City that assaulted their eyes before.

"Hello, welcome to Planet Hollywood. How many in your party tonight?" the hostess greeted them with a smile.

"Two," Lily replied.

"Two?" the hostess repeated grabbing two menus from her little stand. "Follow me," she said and led them in between rows of tables and booths to a little table for two near a wall. "Your waitress will be with you shortly," she informed them and went back to her post by the door.

James pulled out a chair for Lily. She smiled as she sat down in the chair. James sat across from her. "What is this place?" he asked, looking at all the strange things around him.

"This is Planet Hollywood. It's home to some of the most well-known pieces of movie memorabilia ever," Lily told him.

"What do you mean?" he asked her, wishing she would elaborate.

"All the stuff in those display cases are from movies. You can just get up and look around at all the stuff they have."

"Hello, I'm Denise and I'll be your server tonight," a girl said as she appeared at the side of their table. "What can I get for you to drink?"

James suddenly realized that he couldn't very well order a butterbeer in this muggle establishment. They'd think him crazy. He shot Lily a look for help.

"Uh, we'll both have Cokes," Lily said quickly.

"Two Cokes? Ok, I'll be right back with them," Denise said and left them alone.

"Do you know what you're getting to eat?" Lily asked James while she scanned her menu.

"I'm not sure. What are you getting?"

"A cheeseburger and French fries, they have the best burgers here."

"French fries?" James asked. "The French fried what now?"

Lily laughed at him again. "French fries are chips. Except, here they're called French fries."

"Why?"

"I'm not sure actually. Some say that the French didn't even invent them."

"Here you go," Denise said as she place a Coke in front of them. She whipped out her notepad and held her pen poised, ready to take orders. "What can I get you to eat?" she looked at Lily expectantly, she was obviously the one in charge of this dinner.

"We'll both have the cheeseburger and French fries."

"Is that it?" Denise asked.

"Yes."

"Ok, your food will be done shortly."

"So," Lily said as she turned to face James, "why are you in New York?"

"Remus sent us over here to see some show."

"Remus? What show? A Broadway one?"

James shrugged, "I've no idea what we're seeing."

Lily laughed at that, "You came all the way here to see a show, but you don't know what it's called?"

"Basically, yeah. How long are you staying here, Lil?"

"Tomorrow at noon I leave for Spain."

"Spain? What exactly do you do?"

"I work for the International Department of Experimental Charms. I travel and make sure there are no new dangerous charms worldwide and such. What about you?"

James shrugged again, "I'm not sure what I want to do yet. I haven't made up my mind."

"Do you still live with Sirius and Remus?"

"Of course. We lived together at Hogwarts for so many years. I couldn't live without them around now."

"Come on, I'll show you around," Lily said.

He followed her around to the various display cases listening as Lily explained what everything was until they saw that their food had arrived. They talked about school and past memories until they had no more food or drink, nothing to elongate their time together. James paid for their dinner and they walked back to the hotel hand-in-hand. He walked Lily to her hotel door.

"I had fun tonight James."

"Me too," he agreed, moving closer to her. He leaned down and captured her lips in a kiss. She wrapped her arms around his neck, pulling him closer to her while James' arms went around her waist. James pushed her back against her hotel door, eliminating any space between the two. They kissed each other with passion and hunger, knowing at that moment only the other could ever fulfill it. She ran her fingers through his hair and he moaned. He kissed her neck, moving lower ever time. Suddenly she was out of his grasp and her hotel door was open.

"Goodnight James," Lily said before she closed the door, narrowly missing James' nose that he removed at the last second. All James could do was stare at the door. He didn't know whether he should be happy or upset so he made his way back to his hotel room in a trance.

"I kissed Lily Evans," he announced to the room as soon as the door was firmly shut behind him.

"That's great Prongs," Sirius said looking up from a letter he held in his hands. "And I've got some news too."

"What is it?" James asked as he changed into more comfortable clothing.

"Remus' aunt told us the wrong date. The show is next month. We came all the way out here for nothing."

"No," James said, not sure if Sirius was joking or not.

"I'm being serious," Sirius said with a smile.

James snorted. "That's not possible."

"But it really is next month."

"Well, maybe it wasn't all for nothing. I did get a date with Lily Evans."

"So how did it go?"

"It was good. We went to this Planet Hollywood place. Did you know the French made French fries?" James asked Sirius.

"Why do they have so much French food here?"

James shrugged, "I dunno. I guess they don't like their own food or something." James crawled into bed and Sirius did the same. James turned off the lamp on the nightstand.

They laid in silence for a few moments be fore Sirius asked, "Is she still a good kisser?"

"Yes," James answered. "A bloody good one."

"D'you want to go for breakfast tomorrow morning? At that McDonald's place again? That thing was amazing."

"Sure. Should we ask Lily to go?"

"If you want."

"I do."

"Alright then Prongs," Sirius said and rolled over, as if to say their conversation was done.

The two slept rather peacefully. Until, that is, the growling of Sirius' stomach woke them up around seven-thirty the next morning.

"Would you shut up Padfoot," James complained as a particularly loud growl was heard from Sirius' bed.

"S'not my fault," Sirius mumbled. "I'm hungry."

"You're always hungry."

Sirius didn't respond.

James sat up and rubbed the sleep from his eyes.

"So we're going to breakfast now?" Sirius asked hopefully.

"Yes, Paddy," James responded, clearly agitated.

Sirius grinned at this news and hopped out of bed to get ready. "Are you calling Lily?" he asked from the bathroom.

James groaned. "I don't wanna."

"Oh don't be such a baby," Sirius scolded, sticking his head out of the bathroom. "Just do it."

"Yes mummy," James teased and moved towards the phone. He picked it up and dialed Lily's number half-hoping she wouldn't answer.

"Hello?" Lily asked from the other end.

"Hi Lily, it's James."

"Hi James. What are you doing up so early?"

"We're going to breakfast, and we were wondering if you'd like to come with."

"Of course. Where are you going?"

"Ah, to this one place we found. Will you be ready in ten minutes?"

"Sure."

"Ok then, we'll be at your door in ten minutes."

"Bye James."

"Bye Lil," James said and hung up the phone.

"Now was that so hard?" Sirius teased as he strode out of the bathroom.

"Terribly. I hope I never have to do it again," James replied as he sent a pillow towards Sirius' head.

Sirius stuck his tongue out at him as James walked into the bathroom to get ready.

"Hurry up Prongs," Sirius called out after James had spent a couple minutes in the bathroom.

"Well sorry if I had to get ready," James said sarcastically as he came out. "Are you ready now?"

"Of course! I've been ready for the last ten minutes."

"It hasn't been that long."

"Well it felt like it. It felt like hours to my poor stomach," Sirius said wrapping his arms around his middle to contain his hunger.

"Let's go get Lily."

"Lily, Lily, Lily," Sirius sang as he left their hotel room and made his way towards the elevators so he would be the first to press the button.

James shook his head and grinned as he caught up to him. The elevator doors opened and they got in.

"The only bad thing is that these go so much slower," Sirius complained.

"It's fine Sirius. Press floor four."

"Floor four, Lily's floor!" Sirius said happily as he pressed the button.

"I bet she's going to wish you hadn't come along after five minutes."

"Nonsense. Everyone knows that it's always been me that she fancies," Sirius retorted.

"What? That's a load of bull."

"Oh is it?" Sirius taunted as the doors slid open. "Well, we'll just have to go and ask Miss Lily herself," Sirius said as he stepped out. He looked down either end of the hallway.

James smirked. "Her room's this way," he said as he strode down the right side of the hallway.

"I knew that," Sirius replied and caught up with James.

James knocked on her door.

"Can I ask her?" Sirius begged.

"Ask me what?" Lily inquired as she opened the door, shooting an inquisitive look at James.

"Nothing," James replied hastily. "Are you ready?"

"Of course," Lily said and the three headed off to breakfast together.

During the course of breakfast, the three talked about everything, except the possibility of James and Lily again. James couldn't help but to stare at her as she laughed at something Sirius said. Whenever she caught him staring she smiled one of her little smile, as if it were their little secret. Once they were done, they walked around the streets until Lily deemed it time for her to return back to her hotel room so she could grab her bags to catch her plane. Sirius and James went with her to her room. Lily brought out her suitcases and set them on the floor.

"Well," Sirius said. "I'm going to go. I think my show is on again. Good-bye Lily, don't be a stranger now," he said as he placed a kiss on her cheek.

Lily smiled, "Good-bye Sirius."

He left the two alone.

James picked up one of Lily's suitcases. "Let me help you."

"I can get them by myself, you know," Lily replied indignantly as she grabbed the handle to her other suitcase.

"I know, I just want to help you," he told her.

Lily nodded and they made their way down to the lobby. They stood and looked at each other for a moment, then Lily turned to leave but James grabbed her wrist. He slid his hand down to her hand. Strangely, he felt a few raised lines at her wrist. He looked down, but he couldn't see that anything was there.

"Well, I guess this is good-bye," Lily said quietly as she stepped closer to him.

"I guess so," James replied. He leaned down to kiss her, but she quickly moved away.

"Good-bye James," Lily said as she grabbed her two suitcases and walked away from him, leaving him to watch her as she left again.

**A/N:** This story is my baby. I love it. It's will be a bunch of one-shots that just so happen to form a story. I don't think I've ever see a story quite like this one will be. Hopefully it'll be unique.

**Random Facts:** On the band trip we went on in May, I stayed in room 737. Coincidentally, my crush (at that time) stayed on the fourth floor. We were also threatened so that we would behave and not be thrown out. I have never seen anyone be thrown out of a hotel, sadly. NYC's street fairs are amazing. And I did make fun of the French crêpes too. Sorry. Planet Hollywood is one of the coolest places to eat ever!!! So basically, all of their experiences in NYC, I lived 'em.

Sooo….you know what happens now! You get to review and tell me what you think of it! (and if you have any suggestions for songs, lemme know!)


	2. Overdue

**Disclaimer:** I do not own:

Harry Potter

The Get Up Kids

Or "Overdue"

I simply enjoy them all.

**A/N: **So how many of you actually are going to go and listen to the song and read the lyrics? None? Tsk tsk tsk. I found the lyrics and the songs for a reason people, the least you could do is listen to the song, and maybe, hopefully, listen or read the lyrics. I don't pick out these songs from the blue. I have my reasons.

"Overdue" by The Get Up Kids

The three of them were all sitting in their little living room talking about James and Sirius' trip to New York City.

"And Sirius thought we were going to Chicago!" James said which made Remus laugh even harder.

"Chicago? How do you get that mixed up with New York?" Remus asked.

Sirius shrugged. The laughter died down after a few moments. "Prongs, you didn't tell him what you saw in New York, did you?" Sirius asked James.

James ran his fingers through his hair.

"What did you see in New York?" Remus prompted.

James looked out the window before he responded. "Lily Evans."

Remus' eyes widened in surprise, "You saw Lily in New York?"

"And he went on a date with her," Sirius added. "And she went to breakfast with us. She really hasn't changed that much."

"How was the date?" Remus asked.

"It was alright. She took me to this really strange place, but the food was good. D'you know they call chips French fries over there?"

"Everything is French over there," Sirius added.

Remus laughed at the two. "So are you going to see her again?"

"I don't know. I want to, but…I don't know," James said, sounding as unsure as he felt.

"Oh no, I've got to go meet up with Diane," Sirius said as he stood up.

"What? I thought you broke it off with her?" Remus asked.

"I did, but then I saw her with another bloke," Sirius replied.

"Ah, I see," Remus smiled. "Well, I'm off too."

"Where're you going?" Sirius asked him as they both walked off into the kitchen.

"You'll see," Remus told him.

"Tell me now, Moony," Sirius whined from the other room.

James chuckled to himself as the conversation went out of his hearing range. He turned to stare out the window again. _Lily Evans. It's funny, I spent all those years chasing her until we were finally friends. Just when we start to become something more, she disappears. Now, finally, she returns. I can't believe it. Lily Evans._

_Our date…was it even a date? What if it wasn't? Does she even feel that way? What if she only did it to be nice? Because she felt sorry for leaving and not even saying good-bye. I should've never asked her. I should've let it go, let her go, and not have asked her. I bet she only did it because she felt obligated to. And then all she did was leave again. _

_And what was with those things on her wrist? She doesn't…no _James shook his head _Lily would never cut herself. Never. She's too smart to do anything like that. Besides, she has no reason to do it. She's perfect. _

_Too perfect for me. I don't need her. I should've kept my mouth shut, and not asked if it was her or not. I probably won't even see her again. If I haven't seen her in the last year, why would I see her again now? It was only a one-time thing, seeing her. And the date…and the kiss. I shouldn't of have kissed her. She was only doing it out of pity. I've got to let it go. I don't need her. _

_I wonder if she remembers how she just left, vanished without a trace. I wonder if she knows that I got pissed the night I found out she left. Probably not. Not that she would care in the least. I'm her charity case. 'Oh let me help Potter out by giving him hope then crushing his heart.' Bloody Lily Evans. I wonder if she knows that I got pissed every night for a month after that. Oh that's right, it's her, Lily Evans, the one who doesn't care about anyone except for herself. Walks out on everything. Cares about no one. She doesn't care. I should be like her, not caring. I wish I could be. Then I wouldn't have to worry about her, about what she's doing. If she's found someone new or not. Bloody hell, she probably has. I bet he's a bastard that doesn't deserve her too. I hate him _James decided as he stood up and made his way to the kitchen. He grabbed a firewhisky from the fridge and took a swig out of it. _I hope they're happy together. I really don't care. She can be with whoever she wants. I hate her. I have no feelings for her at all. I'll go find myself a girlfriend. Someone who's much prettier than her. And smarter. And who doesn't hate me or pity me. If any of that's possible. Yes, I am over Lily Evans, the menace who always finds a way to ruin me. I'll never see her again and I'll live my life happily and peacefully. No more fights, no more kisses, no more pain. What a great Lily-free life I'll have while she's with her bloody bastard boyfriend. I'll stop thinking about her too. _

The doorbell rang, to James' annoyance. He was trying to cleanse his mind of Lily right now, and he didn't want to be interrupted. It rang a second time. He set down his firewhisky and made his way to the front door.

_I'm totally Lily-free now. Right this second my new life is beginning. And it is great._

James pulled the door open to reveal Lily Evans standing on his doorstep with a nervous smile on her face.

"Hello James."

**A/N: **OOOH! Wasn't going to end it with her showing up, but she did. Oh well. And I even wrote this chapter in one night! That's def. a first.

So I was thinking, do you guys want me to put up the lyrics for the song? Because I know when other people do that I get bored and don't read them. Lol. But I can put them up if you want me to.

Another thought, I don't have a beta, and I'm not sure if I want one or not. Do you guys think I need one? If anyone would like to try it out, let me know.

Review?

Less than three

-Z


	3. Honestly

**Dislcaimer**: I do not own:

Harry Potter

Cartel

Or "Honestly"

**A/N**: Lyrics!

_Please don't mind what I'm trying to say 'cause I'm, I'm being honest  
When I tell you that you_

_You're part of the reason I'm so set on the rest of my life_

_Being a part of you_

_You tell me what you think about being open,_

_About being honest with yourself_

_'Cause things will never be the same._

_So I guess I'll see you, I'll see you around_

_I'm spinning while I'm falling down_

_Now you know why I'm begging you to stay_

_Well don't waste time getting to the point, 'cause I'm, I'm patiently waiting_

_For your next phone call, your next excuse for losing sleep again_

_Tell me what you think about being open,_

_About being honest with yourself_

_'Cause things will never be the same_

_So I guess I'll see you, I'll see you around_

_I'm spinning while I'm falling down_

_Now you know why I'm begging you to stay_

_'Cause I can't stop it now_

_It's so amazing how_

_I know I can't, I could never walk away_

_How can we resolve this now_

_We let it go, and wonder how _

_This can never be the same_

_Can never be the same_

_So I guess I'll see you, I'll see you around_

_I'm spinning while I'm falling down_

_Now you know why I'm begging you, I'm begging!_

_'Cause I can't stop it now,_

_It's so amazing how,_

_I know I can't, I could never walk away._

_Please don't mind what I'm trying to say, 'cause I'm, I'm being honest._

"Honestly" by Cartel

James stared at her in shock for a few moments before he managed to say, "Uh, hi."

She stood on his doorstep, waiting for him to say something else.

"Oh, uh, come in," James said, regaining some of his composure. He moved to the side and she entered his flat. He went into the living room and sat down on the couch. Lily followed him and sat down next to him. "What are you doing here?" he asked her. He was surprised she even remembered where he lived. He thought she had forgotten since she hadn't stopped by in at least the past year or so since she left.

"Well," Lily started, "I, uh…I wanted…no. I…" A look of anger appeared on her face, "Oh fuck this." She closed the gap between the two and kissed him.

They only broke the kiss when the need for oxygen reached an alarming rate.

"I've missed you James," Lily said as she moved closer to him. She ran her fingers through his hair as she stared into his eyes.

"I've missed you too, Lil," James replied and kissed her softly on the mouth.

It was heaven. But one question kept burning in James' mind. _Why did you leave?_ He had to ask her. _Should I ask her? No, she might leave. But I need to know. Just ask her. Do it._

"Why did you leave?" James finally asked her and held his breath, not knowing how she would react. He prayed she wouldn't up and leave.

Lily inwardly groaned. She knew he would ask her sooner or later. She had just been hoping that it would've been the latter. "The truth?" she asked him. James nodded. "I don't know. I got offered the job and I had to leave the next day, so I left."

"Yeah," James scoffed, "without even saying goodbye. Not even a note or anything. You just disappeared."

"I know," Lily said as she lowered her gaze and clasped her hands together. "I though it'd be easier. I didn't want to say goodbye. I didn't want to have to end it."

"You didn't have to, y'know. It didn't have to be over. I could've done something instead of wondering why I never saw you anymore. Why I couldn't contact you at all, until I found out from Eva that you'd left," James said, not even trying to hide the resentment in his voice.

"James, I am so sorry. I know I should've told you," she said as she found the courage to look into his eyes. He was hurt, and upset with her.

_What is this? She just shows up, says she's sorry and expects me to forgive her? She doesn't understand what I went through. She can't imagine the pain she caused me. Hearing her say goodbye would have been better than not knowing. I could've stopped her then. Or followed her. Anything. _

"Lily," James said slowly and softly, "I don't think you understand. You can't walk back in as easily as you walked out. It's not fair. We can't just pick up where we left off. And you still have the same job that you left for. How do I know you won't just leave for Siberia or something for a few months? How is this going to work?"

Lily was taken aback for a moment, she didn't know how to respond. James Potter never talked to her like that. The James Potter of fifth, even seventh year would have taken her back right like that, no questions asked. He was hesitant, but confident of himself around her now.

"I know, I know," Lily said, filled with regret at what she'd done. "But I've missed you, James. I need you. I don't care what I'll have to do to make this work. I'll do anything."

James smiled at her and reached for her hand. Lily gave it up willingly. His fingers touched her wrist briefly, and he looked down at it. There was the faintest red line there.

"Lily?" he said softly. "What happened?" James asked as he traced the line on her wrist.

"Oh, nothing," Lily replied quickly as she pulled her arm back. She rubbed her wrist as she looked away from his face.

"It's not nothing, what happened?" he repeated, pulling her wrist back to him and examining it.

"James, don't worry about it. It's old," Lily said as she tried to free her arm from his grasp.

"Lily you have to be honest with me here."

Lily stopped struggling and sighed. "It's just a scratch. Would you please just drop it?" she asked, slightly annoyed with him now.

James nodded and let go of her wrist. He didn't look at her. Instead he focused on the coffee table that suddenly appeared interesting.

Neither of them said anything for a moment.

"I'm sorry James," Lily said as she turned his head towards her with her hand. "I just…I don't want to ruin this.

James didn't reply, but kissed her on her forehead. "Don't do again."

Lily nodded and nestled closer to James and he wrapped his arms around her.

The two stayed like that for a few minutes before Lily asked, "What time is it?"

"Six o'clock," a voice said from the doorway.

"Oh no!" Lily exclaimed as she jumped up from her spot in James' arms. "I'm late."

"Late? Late for what?" James asked as he stood up.

"Meeting Eva. I promised I'd meet her…she's going to kill me…" Lily said as she tucked her hair behind her ears and straightened out her clothing.

"Do you really have to go?" James asked her.

"Yes," Lily responded, kissing him on his cheek.

"Are you sure?" James asked again as he laced his fingers through hers. "You can't stay just a bit longer, seeing as you're already late?"  
Lily smiled at him, "No, sadly, I can't."

"I'll see you tomorrow though?"

"Yes."

"When?"

"Well, seeing as I have a job, and you don't, it depends on when I can make it, doesn't it?" Lily teased him.

"S'not fair," James protested. "You promise?"

"Promise," Lily said and kissed him.

"Goodbye James," Lily said. "Bye Sirius," she said to the figure in the doorway.

"'Bye Lily," Sirius replied. "Say 'hello' to Eva for me."

Lily nodded and disappeared with a small _pop_.

James grinned and plopped back onto the sofa.

"So," Sirius said casually as he made his way to the sofa and sat down next to James, "you two looked…cozy."

"Yeah."

"Well?" Sirius prompted.

"Well what?" James asked, acting as if he had no clue what Sirius was talking about.

"What's going on with you and Lily?" Sirius asked him.

James shrugged, but his grin grew even wider.

"So it's back on is it?" Sirius asked him.

James nodded happily.

"That's good. And things won't be the same as before this time?"

"No," James answered with a determined look in his eye, "it will be different."

Sirius nodded his head. "I hope so."

_Me too. _

**A/N: **Thanks to my sister for making me download this song. And thanks to my boredom which led me to listen to this song.

Beta out, lyrics in. Got it? Good. ;)

This Saturday I am off to a leadership camp (yes, laugh if you must. I still hold my head high!) held by the Pennsylvania Association of Student Councils. And I won't be back until Thursday, so prolly no update until Friday. Sorry guys. But I will be living with no air conditioning, so pray for me!

Reviews make me very very very happy!

(And just to satisfy my curiosity, where are you guys all from?)


	4. Chasing Cars

**Dislcaimer**: I do not own:

Harry Potter

Snow Patrol

Or "Chasing Cars"

**A/N**: No lyrics this time. I'm sure you guys know most of them. Hopefully you do at least. I love this song! lol

"Chasing Cars" by Snow Patrol

"Come on," Lily said as she gave his hand a little tug.

James stared at his girlfriend. His girlfriend, no one else's. he was lucky, he was happy, he was on the verge of falling in love again. It scared him a bit, but was exhilarating.

"What do you want to do?" Lily asked him, looking into his eyes.

She was tired, exhausted, but her body had too much adrenaline. She was a little kid on a short-lived sugar high, just running before she crashed. It had only been two weeks since she had returned and despite James' subtle initial resistance, she had worked her way perfectly into his life again. He didn't want to do anything with her, just being with her was enough.

He smiled a little smile, having an idea. He got up but Lily's voice stopped him.

"What are we going to do? I told Eva I'd let her know what we were doing."

"Eva can take care of herself."

"Well what about Sirius? Didn't you tell him you'd meet up with him in Diagon Alley?" Lily prompted.

"We don't need him Lily, we're perfectly fine by ourselves. Don't you trust me when we're alone?" James asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Oh stop," Lily laughed. He gave her a quick kiss.

"Can't we go to Diagon Alley? I need some supplies," Lily continued.

James smiled, "You don't need them right now. We don't need anyone or anything, not when we're together."

Lily rolled her eyes but smiles nonetheless.

He walked into the hallway and extracted a large blanket from the mostly empty linen closet.

"What are you doing?" Lily asked as she peeked her head out of the doorway of the lounge.

He didn't reply and walked away from her towards the door that led outside to the small garden. With his back to her, she couldn't see the smile on his lips.

"James? James what are you doing?" Lily said as she stepped into the hallway, just as James disappeared out the door. "James Potter!" Lily cried out as she dashed down the hall and outside after him. He laid the blanket down on the ground and laid on top of it, his face towards the sky. "What are you doing?"

"Come lay with me," James said and motioned to the empty space next to him on the blanket.

Lily gave him a look which clearly expressed that she thought him insane, but he didn't see it for he was only looking at the sky. She looked around, and found no one or nothing to tell that anything was going on. She couldn't shake the feeling of suspicion as she laid down next to him. Lily peered into the sky, searching for what James found so interesting. After a few moments of silence she asked, "What are we doing?"

"Don't do anything, Lil. Just forget the world even exists. Just lie here with me."

"Can't we do something?"

"Just look at the stars, love," James replied.

Lily stared at the sky for a few more moments, trying to find whatever it was that he wanted her to find. "Can't we do something else?" she asked as she sat upright.

"No," James replied. He tugged on her arm gently. She turned her body so she was adjacent to him and laid her head on his stomach. "What are you thinking about?" James asked, although he knew she found it hard to stay still in one place. That was one reason that she loved her job. Lily turned her head towards his and smiled, then she looked upwards. He was terribly afraid that Lily would grow tire of him and would move on. She had proved before that it was only too easy for her.

"I'm thinking about you, and how you're the only person who would drag me outside to see the stars," Lily said.

"Is that a good ting of a bad thing?"

"It's a good thing. You're very comfortable."

"Thanks. Do you see that star, the one right past the neighbor's chimney?"

"Yeah, is that the North Star?"

"Yes."

"I haven't looked at the stars since our last Astronomy class," Lily said, searching the sky for any constellations that she remembered.

"Do you miss it?" James asked. "Hogwarts?"

"Sometimes. I don't miss the classes or most of the professors, but I miss the safety I felt there. Like nothing could ever go too wrong just because I was at Hogwarts."

"I'll always protect you, Lily," James said softly, then instantly regretted it. She would think it was some kind of line.

Lily reached for his hand and held it. "I know you will."

James smiled. He was safe. But even better, Lily would be safe because he would never let anything hurt her and she would let him.

They laid there together for a little while before Lily broke the silence. "I'm sorry James," she said as she sat up straight, looking at him.

He knew she was sorry, but he was glad to hear her say it. "I know."

"No, I truly am," Lily repeated and laid down next to him on her side and James turned his body so he could see her face better. "I love you."

He loved her. He really did and he knew it. It was a fact, that had never changed. Even after she left he still loved her. It didn't seem enough somehow, just to say those three tiny little words. They could not possibly express what he felt for her. He doubted any words could. Yet those three words were all he had at the moment. "I love you too."

She smiled at him and looked around them as best as she could while lying on the ground. Her eyes stopped at what appeared to be a garden. She immediately got up and inspected the neighbor's little garden. She touched the soft petals of the flowers. She bent down to smell them, they smelled wonderful, filling her nose with their sweet perfume. James wrapped his arms around her waist, and she stood up and leaned against him. She picked one of the taller flowers and put it to his nose.

"Smells good," James said with a nod. Lily smiled in agreement and placed it behind her ear.

"It's so full of life, I've always wanted a garden," Lily said softly to herself.

"You can still have one," James said. "I'll help you if you'd like."

"That's sweet but I'd probably ruin it. I don't have much of a green thumb."

"I'm sure you do, if you would only try."

"My mum said that I didn't when I was younger. She was disappointed that I didn't have it like she did."

"Nonsense. You just haven't tried it lately," James replied, not letting her think that she was bad at something. He took her hand and led her back to the blanket. He sat down and Lily gracefully sat beside him. She stretched her arms and placed them behind her and leaned back on them. She moved so gracefully, he knew he could never imitate her moves. She did everything with such precision that it would be impossible to copy her. The only time he had ever achived such grace was on the Quidditch pitch, but he decided not to be too hung up about it. He laid down on his side, turned towards her. Lily slid her arms back, lowering her body to the ground. She leaned on her elbow, then laid on it so they were face-to-face. He gazed into her gorgeous eyes. He loved her eyes. He loved how they laughed and gave away her feelings when her mouth refused to. But most of all, he loved looking into them, feeling that she was looking right into his and at his very soul. No on else had the power to do that. He felt for her hand and held it in his. He didn't want anything to change from that moment. He did not know how he could be so lucky, how she found his way back to him, but it really did not matter. He could have laid like that with her next to him forever.

**A/N**: Long time no update, I know. But 'tis life.

I started writing this before this song was on the radio or on MTV. I couldn't bear to not use the stuff that I had once the song became popular.


	5. Stolen

"Stolen" by Dashboard Confessional

"It's so pretty," Lily said as she and James walked hand-in-hand down the sidewalk.

The leaves were gold and red and yellow, all aflame in the setting sun. James looked up at the trees then back to Lily. "It is."

A little wind blew, twirling the leaves around on the ground. Lily's dress pressed against the back of her legs, pushing her forward. She shivered and James let go of her hand and wrapped his arm around her bare shoulders. "Do you want my coat?" James offered.

"No, I'm good," Lily refused with a smile.

"You should've worn a coat, it's almost winter."

"It's just the beginning of autumn. And it seemed so nice out when we left," Lily said. "We're almost there anyways." They walked a few more blocks until they reached the driveway that led to Eva's parent's house. "I'm so excited," Lily smiled. They walked up the driveway and stood on the porch. Before they could knock on the door, it was opened by a small smiling boy who was missing a front tooth. James and Lily stepped inside.

"Invitation?" a young girl asked them from their right. She was only a year or two older than the boy but they both had the same brown eyes. She held a clipboard in her hand and looked up at them expectantly.

"Uh…" Lily faltered. "I didn't bring it, did you?"

James shook his head, "I didn't bring it either."

"You can't come in without an invitation. It's invitation only," the girl informed them with an air of authority, she was obviously enjoying her post.

"Lily! James!" Eva exclaimed as she ran down the staircase to the front door. "Come in," Eva said warmly.

"No!" the girl cried in panic, "They don't have an invitation."

"Honey, that's what the list is for. Ask them for their names," Eva directed her.

"What's your name?" the girl asked James who was standing the closest to her.

"James Potter," he replied. The girl scanned the list in her hands. There was a flash of a smile that was quickly replaced by a look of puzzlement. She looked up at her aunt and tugged on her dress.

Eva bent down while the girl whispered in her ear,

"Are they married? It only says James Potter." Eva smiled at her,

"They're not married," she half-whispered back.

"Really?" she asked in wonder. She looked back at James and Lily then to Eva she said, "They look like they are."

Lily blushed and Eva chuckled, "Just ask her for her name."

"What's your name?" the girl asked Lily.

"Lily Evans," Lily told her.

The girl scanned the list again. "Ok, you can go in," she said happily.

"Thank you," James said as they were granted access to the party.

"I'm so glad that you two came," Eva said happily.

"Of course, we wouldn't miss it," Lily told her.

"Good," Eva smiled as she led them down the hallways to the party. "I'm sorry about Dacia. She watched a movie and wanted to be the bouncer for my party."

"It's alright, she was cute," Lily assured her.

Eva grinned in thanks and opened two French doors to reveal a large, elegant ballroom. "There's the quartet," Eva motioned to the left wall where a platform was set up with a string quartet occupying it, "the food and drinks," she motioned to the right wall, "and the doors on the opposite side of the room lead outside to the gardens."

"It's beautiful," Lily admired the room and all the elegant looking people inside.

"Eva!" an older man called out as he motioned for her to come to him.

"I'm wanted, sorry guys. I think Sirius, Remus, and Peter are over by the food," she told them as she left them to greet the man that had called her name.

James and Lily made their way over to the right of the ballroom and found their three friends. Greetings were exchanged as was custom at such events.

"I didn't think you two were going to show," Sirius joked.

"And miss the chance to crash another party?" James scoffed. "Never."

Lily laughed, "We got stopped by the bouncer."

"She wasn't going to let us in either, since we didn't have the invitation. Thankfully Eva showed up," James added.

"The infamous James Potter, getting stopped by a little girl?" Sirius laughed. "I would've loved to see that."

"It was quite a sight," Lily smiled. "I need a drink, I'm so thirsty," she said as she left their group to search for something to satisfy her thirst.

"Who was she?" James asked them.

"It was Eva's niece," Remus answered him.

James looked at him, "How do you know?"

"Because she introduced us to them," Remus told James.

"She didn't introduce us, what a hostess," James said.

"You should've seen Dacia and Attis when they saw Sirius," Peter started.

"No," Sirius said quickly, "James doesn't want to hear that."

"I'm sure he does," Remus chimed in with a smirk.

"I'm sure I do," James agreed, intrigued by what could possibly make Sirius embarrassed.

"Eva was introducing Remus and I to Dacia and Attis. Sirius was walking towards us and when the two kids saw him they started yelling 'Uncle Sirius!' and ran towards him. He picked them both up and swung them around. They were laughing and giggling so hard," Peter retold the events.

"Never knew you were so good with kids," James chuckled.

"Yeah…just another one of my talents," Sirius tried to downplay his obvious uneasiness.

"That's so cute," Lily said as she rejoined the group with a glass of clear liquor in her hand. "Uncle Sirius."

Peter looked at the watch on his wrist. "Ah, it's time for me to go," he announced. "I'll wish you all a goodnight."

"Leaving so soon?" Remus asked.

"It's too early to say goodnight," Lily protested.

"I know, but I promised I would be there…" Peter trailed off.

"Well if you have to go," James reluctantly said. "Good-bye."

"'Bye," Peter said.

"Good-bye" they called out as he left the group.

"Let's go dance," Lily said suddenly as she took James' hand.

"What?" James asked in surprise.

"Let's dance," she repeated.

"Uh…ok?" James conceded.

Lily grinned. "Hold this?" she said as she gave her glass to Remus and led James out onto the floor where other couples were dancing. She wrapped her arms around his neck and his went around her waist. They danced together to the music. He would whisper little comments about the guests around them. This made Lily blush, then look to see who might have heard him, but in the process she would see who he was talking about and start giggling as she found he was right.

James loved making her laugh. The way she tilted her head back and her eyes sparkled, that's all that mattered at the moment. He quickly tried to memorize the way she looked, knowing that he would dream of her laughter, insuring a good night. After a few songs the band took a break and James led Lily back off the dance floor to see that Eva had also joined their group.

"So what's with the big party?" Sirius prompted Eva.

"My parents think they're going to die any day now and are afraid that they're not going to have another chance to celebrate my birthday and so they went all out for this one," Eva told him.

"And you agreed to all this?" Lily asked her, knowing Eva to like a small group of people rather than a ballroom full of them.

Eva shrugged, "They're my parents. It was this or feel guilty because I didn't let them have their fun by throwing me a party." She lowered her voice, "It's just some of these people I don't really know and they keep telling me about how adorable I was when I was younger. Sometimes it's sort of weird."

They all laughed at Eva's uneasiness with strangers.

"I guess we don't have to worry about you walking off with a stranger then," Remus joked.

"Oh Merlin no," Eva said with mock horror, causing them to laugh again.

"I love the quartet, they're amazing," Lily complimented.

"Thanks," Eva replied. "They are pretty good. Speaking of, they're coming back on." Everyone turned towards the little platform and saw that the quartet was indeed returning and taking their positions with their instruments.

"Eva!" a chunky woman in a black dress called out from behind her, opening her arms wide.

Eva rolled her eyes, and the boys and Lily couldn't help but repress a smirk as Eva smiled brightly and turned around to greet the woman. "Hello Mrs. Adams!" Eva replied with forced enthusiasm. The woman, however, missed this and enveloped her in a tight hug and dragged her off to show to another Mr. & Mrs. Something-Or-Other.

Lily clapped her hands together, "Oh! I love this song!"

Sirius turned to her and half-bowed, "May I have this dance?"

Lily giggled and gave him her hand, "Of course."

Sirius led her to the dance floor, leaving James and Remus alone together.

"Sirius stealing your girl?" Remus chuckled.

"He can have her for awhile, I get her for the rest of the night," James replied with a grin.

"So things for you two have been good?" Remus asked.

"Yeah, really good." He watched as Sirius spun her around in her ridiculously high heels. She had stumbled in them walking to the party, and James had chided her but she ignored him and hadn't stumbled since. He watched the other couples dancing, scrutinizing the girls, but none of them even came close to Lily in his eyes.

"James, you do realize that you're grinning like a fool watching her."

James turned to look at him with a smile and said, "I don't care. That girl has stolen my heart."

****

A/N: I hope your summer is going as well as mine is. I might be posting another story soon, and another chapter of TMT even sooner!


	6. Love Song

"Love Song" by Anberlin, Originally by The Cure

James and Lily had returned from Eva's party. They had planned on drinking a little champagne and spending the rest of the night together. Lily was in a happy elated state oblivious to all of James' little nervous quirks like ruffling his hair every few seconds.

To his delight, she was in total shock when he bent down on one knee and asked her to marry him.

And when she said yes, he thought he would die of pure happiness, but his voice seemed frozen and wouldn't tell Lily to take him to St. Mungos to make sure he was still alive.

Somehow they ended up on his couch, wrapped in a blanket, her in his arms, with her examining the ring he had placed on her finger, both of them content.

With her in her arms he felt like he was at home, like he was whole and that a pice of him was no longer missing. She started laughing for no apparent reason, but his mood at the moment agreed with laughing and so he joined her. They laughed like that for a few minutes, like they were little kids giggling at the most inane thing. She was fun and carefree and made him feel that way when she was with him.

He knew that no matter where he went, for however long they were separated, no matter what he said, he would always love the girl in his arms.

She spun the ring around on her finger and he watched her. He grinned, knowing that he could get used to seeing that ring on her finger.

He felt free and clean. This was a whole new beginning for them. The past didn't matter, only their future together did.

He loved her and now he was going to marry her.


	7. This Is Such A Pity

"This Is Such A Pity" by Weezer

"Are you alright?" James asked as Lily apparated into his flat looking worn-out.

"I'm fine," Lily snapped. "I'm just a bit tired."

"You look exhausted. What do they have you doing?"

"It's nothing," Lily told him through gritted teeth. "Don't worry about it, I'm fine."

"I'm sorry for worrying about your health," James retorted, then mentally scolded himself. They didn't need another fight. His anger wouldn't help the situation. He didn't mean to get so mad at her all the time. "I'm sorry," he said quickly. "I just worry."

"I know," Lily said softly. He stepped forward and wrapped his arms around her delicate

frame and she let out a heavy sigh. "I'm sorry too." She leaned her head against his chest, and he had to wonder how things got so bad that they were at each other's throat for every little thing.

Her body shook in his arms and he realized that she was crying. He pushed her away to see her make-up running down her face in two little black streams against her white skin. He frowned at her, she knew he hated when she wore that ugly black stuff on her eyes. She was pretty enough that she didn't need it and it always seemed to come off. His finger traced the one

black stream.

"Why do you wear it? You're so pretty, Lily, you don't need to wear this crap," he said to her softly as he wiped his blackened finger on his pants. And then he bit his tongue, because he knew she would take it the wrong way.

"What does it matter? You have no say in what I choose to put on. It's my decision," she

retorted angrily as she stepped out of his arms, staring into his eyes in defiance.

James sighed as he put his arms around her. Her arms hung at her sides.

He wanted to ask her if she was okay, but he knew she would be offended. She would think that he thought she couldn't handle it. So instead he bit his tongue and didn't apologize for getting so mad either.

It seemed that no matter what he said, they always ended up fighting. He didn't want it to be this way, he could feel her anger radiating as he hugged her. It was such a pity that this is what happened.

"Lily," he said softly. "Can we stop fighting? Please?"

She stepped out of his hug. "It's not my fault we fight," she yelled. "You make it sound like it's all my fault. It's not!" She stormed away from him, into the hallway and he heard a door slam.

James shook his head. He didn't want this at all. He didn't even want to know what it would be like if they would actually marry. He heard her slamming pots and around and knew she was in the kitchen. He just wanted a little peace, to be with her and not be arguing. He wondered what the neighbors thought, they were probably about to call the police. And if the police came, what would happen? Did they even have any record of him since he was a wizard? He was a little scared then, maybe they would lock him up in their own form of Azkaban.

He walked into the hallway and opened the kitchen door a tiny bit to see in. Lily was stirring a pot on the stove. He opened the door more and walked into the room. Lily either did not hear him enter or merely did not acknowledge his presence. "What are you making?" he asked.

Lily didn't reply but stirred the contents of the pot.

"Lily, please don't be mad at me. I didn't mean it."

She took the pot off of the stove and slammed it onto the counter.

He was quite surprised that it didn't break from the force of it, metal or not. She wanted him to say he was sorry and that it was all his fault, but he couldn't. It wasn't all his fault. And he knew that she would never apologize. Neither of them would give.

Lily went to one of the cabinets and took out a jar of sauce. She opened it and poured it into the pot and stirred its contents around.

He took out a glass and poured two cups of pumpkin juice while Lily dished out the

spaghetti onto two plates and set them down on the table. She took a seat and James placed a glass in front of her and sat down at the other place on the table.

Neither of their eyes looked at anything besides their plate.

They ate in silence.


	8. Walk Away Maybe

**A/N: **So this one really doesn't follow the lyrics that much. But it's still very fitting. Plus this song is great. After this, there's only two more.

"Walk Away (Maybe)" by Good Charlotte

"Hey James, have you seen my pearl necklace?" Lily asked him the second she apparated into his flat.

"I haven't seen it," he replied, looking up from the book in his lap.

"Damn it. I need it," Lily swore as she stomped her foot against the floor.

James looked her up and down, from her slightly curled hair to her black cocktail dress, to the heels she was wearing, it was obvious that she was going out to impress.

"Where are you going?" he asked Lily who was walking around the room lifting and looking behind objects for her necklace.

"Oh, Eva and I are going out," Lily shrugged nonchalantly as she picked up a stack of magazines on the coffee table and set them back down.

"Where to?"

"What does it matter?" Lily snapped, her temper flaring. "You're not my keeper."

"Of course not, I'm just your fiancé, why should I care about where you're going?"

"We're just going out for drinks," she replied tartly. "That is, if that's okay with you," she added scathingly.

"Oh well of course it is _dear_," James retorted sarcastically as he stood up from his place on the couch.

"So glad to have your permission _honey_."

"Glad to give it _babe_."

"This is ridiculous!" Lily shouter, her face scowling, hands clenched into fists. "I don't need your permission to go out if I choose to!"

"I'm so glad that you can make plans to go out with Eva, but not even bother talking to me for days."

"Rubbish, I just talked to you yester," Lily dismissed him with a wave of her hand.

"Yes, because I came to your flat. You never come to mine to see me. You only come if you need something, otherwise you wouldn't even know what it looks like."

"I'm going to be late," Lily said and walked towards the hallway.

"You can't just leave, we need to talk," James told her.

"I'm late already," she mused as she headed for the front door.

"Is going out for drinks really more important than us?"

"She's going to wonder what's holding me up," Lily muttered, loud enough for James to hear as she reached for the door.

"Wait," James commanded.

Her hand dropped back to her side and looked at him, obviously annoyed.

"If you leave now, we're over."

Lily looked at him with a blank face, he couldn't see any emotion whatsoever. The air was suddenly heavy and he found it hard to breathe, his heart beating faster than it ever had before.

Lily took a step forward, towards him.

She took off her engagement ring and held it with her right hand. She held it over the table and opened her hand so that the ring fell onto the tabletop. In one fluid motion she turned around, opened the door, stepped out and closed the door.

She was gone.

James couldn't move from his spot, facing the door.

It was over.

He had hoped that she would prove his fears wrong, that she really did need him. But he was wrong, his fears were right. She was free now.

For a second he considered grabbing the ring and going after her. It was right there, three steps to the table against the wall with his keys lying next to it. They could get back together and everything would be fine.

James took a step forward, then immediately stepped back.

If she really wanted him she would have stayed. Even for five minutes to show that she cared, but no she wasn't even capable of doing that.

He turned around and walked to his bedroom and collapsed on top of his bed. He closed his eye, suddenly exhausted, but the only image that played was the one of Lily walking out the door. He settled for staring at the ceiling.

He had let her leave.

It was easier to walk away than to fix what was wrong with them.

There was always the slight chance that she would come back.

James turned on his side and closed his eyes again.

It was all in her hands.

The thought didn't make him sleep any easier.


	9. Boston

"Boston" by Augustana

Eva apparated to Lily's flat. She looked around in shock. There were boxes everywhere. Some were full and stacked in piles. Others were sitting on the living room floor half full.

"Lily? Lily where are you?" Eva called out, carefully making her way through the maze of boxes.

"I'm in here Ev," Lily called back.

Eva followed the sound of Lily's voice to the bedroom. "Lily, what are you doing? What's with the boxes?" Eva asked, walking into the room to find Lily's dresser drawer open with her emptying its contents into a suitcase. Different articles of clothing were strewn across the room.

"I'm packing," Lily said simply, not even looking up from her task.

"Packing? Where are you going?"

Lily looked up. "I'm going to Boston."

"What? Lily, you can't be serious," Eva said with a little laugh, waiting for Lily to tell her that she was just moving down the street, not across the ocean.

Lily didn't reply. She just continued packing.

"Lily? You're really moving to Boston?" Eva asked her incredulously.

"I am," Lily said. She zipped the suitcase close and placed it on the floor. She grabbed an empty duffle bag and started to shove the contents of another drawer into it.

"You're not moving to Boston," Eva said disbelievingly.

"Yes, I am Ev," Lily told her.

"You can't!" Eva cried out.

"Why not?" Lily asked her.

"Because you just can't," Eva said. "Lily, I'll miss you if you leave."

"I'll miss you too, but you can always visit me there. Or better yet, why don't you move to Boston with me?" Lily suggested, raising an eyebrow at Eva.

"Lily, you know I can't leave. My life is here, and so is yours. You can't go Lily," Eva repeated.

"My life was here, Ev. There's nothing here for me anymore."

"Yes there is. Your job is here. And your friends," Eva said. "And James is here," Eva added softly.

"I can get a new job. You're the only one I'll miss here Ev. And I could care less where James is. He can go to hell for all I care," Lily said angrily, throwing the duffle bag on the floor.

"Lily, you can't leave James. You love him. I know you do," Eva said.

"I don't," Lily replied forcefully. "I did, and that was a mistake I made."

"It wasn't a mistake and you know that. I can't believe you. You're leaving just because of him. Where's the Lily I know? She wouldn't just pack of and leave because of a guy."

"You don't know what it's like. To have people stare at you. To know that people are whispering about you as soon as you pass them. 'Look, there goes James Potter's ex-fiancé. Oh dear, what happened? I heard…' And it just goes on and on. It's hard to be around him now, I avoid him, Ev. I never thought it would end up like this. It's just easier to leave now."

"Lily, I'm sorry," Eva said, and wrapped her arms around Lily in a hug. When they let go Eva asked, "What did happen between you two?"

"We're too different. I think we fought more than we did before 7th year. I couldn't bear it anymore, Eva. And so I broke it off. I walked out of his flat and left the ring on the side table. I haven't seen him since," Lily said. She got up and started towards another box. "And now I won't have to."

"I thought you two loved each other."

"We did. Sometimes it's not enough."

"It's always enough."

"It wasn't this time."

Eva picked up a stack of picture frames and started packing them in a box. "Lily, why Boston?"

"Because it's different. I hear that they actually have sunshine instead of rain all the time. I'm tired of this weather. No one there will know me or my name. And they won't know my history with him. I can start over there. My cousin says they have beautiful sunrises, I'll be staying with her."

"You're staying with your cousin?"

"Yeah, she has an extra bedroom in her flat, I mean apartment. It's in the middle of the city. It's all set. I'm leaving tonight."

"Tonight?" Eva cried out. "That's too soon! Lily!"

"The sooner I get out of here, the better."

"Lily I'll miss you," Eva said. She continued putting pictures in the box. She lifted a picture frame with a photo in it. She stop and studied it for a moment.

"What are you looking at?" Lily asked her, grabbing the picture from Eva's hands.

Lily's eyes watered staring at the picture. Suddenly she flung it across the room. It hit the wall with a satisfying crash and fell to the floor ending in a pile of shattered glass.

"I'm going to Boston," Lily said determinedly with tears rolling down her face.

**A/N: **Do you like it? I'm not getting any reviews, so I hope it's alright. Just tell me if you like it or not. Consider it a birthday present for me (since I turned 18 yesterday! Whooot!)


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